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Campaigning

AGM & Annual Review 2022-23 Launch

50+ Years of Support and Sanctuary at the Heart of Nottingham 

Download a copy of our Annual Review 2022-23 here

Nottingham Women’s Centre is celebrating over 50 years at the heart of the city, providing much needed support and services for all self-identifying women, from all backgrounds, in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. On Wednesday 10th January 2024, we held our Annual General Meeting at our headquarters in the historic 30 Chaucer Street building to mark this fantastic achievement! 

NWC CEO Vandna Gohil and Councillor Shuguftah Quddoos, The Sheriff of Nottingham
NWC CEO Vandna Gohil and Councillor Shuguftah Quddoos, The Sheriff of Nottingham

The event showcased the vital work of Nottingham Women’s Centre over the last 50+ years, supporting women through many challenges, including isolation; access to mental health services; seeking asylum; escaping abuse; financial difficulties and leaving the Criminal Justice System to name just a few. 

“I truly believe in the difference Nottingham Women’s Centre can make to the lives of women in Nottingham, be it learning new skills, meeting new friends or accessing affordable support for wellbeing and mental health.”

Vandna Gohil, CEO of Nottingham Women’s Centre.
Protest artwork at Nottingham Women's Centre
Protest artwork at Nottingham Women’s Centre

The support at Nottingham Women’s Centre today includes counselling services, person centred support, advice, guidance, courses, activities, volunteering opportunities, and a welcoming space for all women to meet, visit Nottingham Women’s Library and Archive, and join campaigns for women’s rights and women’s voices to be truly amplified together.  

These services and spaces were of utmost importance during the difficult times of the Covid-19 pandemic, in which isolation and abuse were most severely felt, and support and safe spaces such as Nottingham Women’s Centre provided much needed sanctuary. 

AGM attendees
AGM attendees
Protest artwork at NWC
Protest artwork at NWC
Vandna and Helen
Former NWC CEO Helen Voce and current NWC CEO Vandna Gohil at the AGM
Attendees mingle at the AGM
Attendees mingle at the AGM
Sam, one of the speakers at the AGM
Sam, one of the speakers at the AGM
Chair of the Board of Trustees, Justine Weston, CEO Vandna Gohil and Sheriff of Nottingham, Councillor Shuguftah Quddoos
Chair of the Board of Trustees, Justine Weston, CEO Vandna Gohil and Sheriff of Nottingham, Councillor Shuguftah Quddoos
AGM Celebration Food
AGM Celebration Food
Attendees in front of banner artwork at NWC
Attendees in front of banner artwork at NWC
The AGM Celebration Cake
The AGM Celebration Cake
Heritage Banner at NWC
Heritage Banner at NWC
AGM Attendees
AGM Attendees

“We noticed that the call on our services increased post-pandemic, and with the cost-of-living crisis having a disproportionate impact on women. We are proud to offer a free, safe community space in Nottingham City Centre where any woman can drop in for a cup of tea in our Welcome Space or relax and browse our Women’s Library”

Justine Weston, Chair of The Board of Trustees.  

During the evening AGM event, stakeholders, supporters, members and partners heard first-hand evidence and testimonials about the services provided, and the lasting positive impact this has had on the lives of so many.  

NWC Annual Review 2022-23
NWC Annual Review 2022-23
Download a copy of our Annual Review 2022-23 here

The AGM also saw the launch of Nottingham Women’s Centre’s Annual Review 2022-23, further detailing how the work of the last year has supported so many women throughout communities in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.

Recent figures show that in 2022 there were 476 referrals from the probation service, 766 hours of much needed low-cost counselling for women on low incomes was provided, 104 women received specialist domestic abuse counselling and support, and 265 women were referred for emotional wellbeing support.  

Services users have said of their experiences: 

“The strength and support have given me both mental and emotional stability and I aim to do the same for others.” 

“Coming to the Centre has let me be in an environment surrounded by passionate and positive women. There is light at the end of the tunnel.” 

This just goes to show how vitally important Nottingham Women’s Centre is, and how crucial it is that we continue to provide a safe, supportive space for all women to flourish and gain strength, and have their voices heard for another 50 years and beyond! 

Download a copy of our Annual Review 2022-23 here

Autumn / Winter Policy Updates 2023

Nottingham Women’s Centre is excited to bring you this autumn / winter update on our policy and campaign work.

1. What we are working on right now!

The Impact of Alcohol Tags on Women

Background

Since March 2021, courts in England have introduced Alcohol Abstinence and Monitoring Requirements (AAMRs) where drinking was a factor in a crime. An alcohol tag is imposed within an AAMR for adult offenders as a requirement of a community order or suspended sentence order for an alcohol-related offence, or an associated offence that is alcohol-related.

AAMRs bans offenders from drinking alcohol for up to 120 days and offenders must wear an alcohol monitoring tag as part of their community sentence. Compliance is monitored electronically through the alcohol tag which monitors the presence of alcohol in offender’s sweat. A recent report shows high compliance rates, however there is yet no evidence of their impact on offenders.

Through its case work, Nottingham Women’s Centre has identified the case of the use of alcohol tags and its adverse impact of its use on women.

Action

We are calling on relevant stakeholders to feed into our briefing proposing that the government looks into the women’s health needs and possible impacts on alcohol tags.
We are working with Alcohol Change UK as well as Severe and Multiple Disadvantage (SMD) Partnership Nottingham to better understand the prevalence of this issue and make changes at local and national level.

If you have lived experience of or work with women who have experience of alcohol tagging, or would like to feed into our briefing to the government please email ezinwanne@nottinghamwomenscentre.com.

Prosecution for School Non Attendance – a disproportionate impact on women

Women who are single parents have to split their finances between the rising cost of food and energy bills with childcare costs, making it almost impossible to work or survive. This is further complicated where single mothers have children with special needs. Recent evidence shows that single mothers are over represented in the Criminal Justice System for failure to secure their children’s attendance in school.

Prosecuting parents for their children’s non-attendance in school is yet another government intervention that has failed to consider and support the intersecting needs and experiences of women. We have worked with women at the Centre who have been sentenced (mostly for the first time) because they ‘failed to get their children to attend school’ where in reality, such children either have unmet special educational needs or are bullied in school. These huge fines (up to £2500) further puts women under enormous financial pressure in the current climate.

Action

We are calling on the Council to look into the root causes of the prosecution of parents for their children’s school non-attendance, especially for single mothers as this is an unfair burden in the current cost of living crisis.

2. On our radar…

Other issues we are aware of:

Rehousing from Refuge: There is an increased risk of homelessness as women seeking rehousing in Nottingham city are in Refuge for significantly longer which seems to have a direct correlational impact on symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Impact of proposed Public Order Bill: In April 2023, the Public Order Bill passed its final stages at the House of Lords. This bill will introduce more powers to restrict people’s fundamental rights to peaceful protest. This will impact us in two ways:

  • Reclaim the Night and many other peaceful protests for women’s rights will be impeded as the law gives police power to define disruptive protests and issue protest bans preventing people from attending protests.
  • Stop and search without suspicion, interferes with women’s rights to privacy and the right to freedom from discrimination particularly for Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority women.

Lack of access to GPs for prison releases: Women released from prisons are struggling to register with GPs as their prison badges are not accepted as valid proof of ID/address.

Lack of support and inconsistency from solicitors and judges for domestic abuse survivors through the court processes

3. What We Achieved!

We were at Parliament on December 6th!

In October, we submitted evidence to the Women and Equalities Committee highlighting the impact of the rising cost of living on women in Nottingham. We were invited to give further oral evidence on the experiences of women in Nottingham.

Watch our oral evidence here

Read our evidence submission here

Free hours for childcare from April 2024

We submitted evidence to the Education Committee on the impact of unaffordable childcare costs on women after a survey and focus group conducted with women. The Department of Education has now announced new changes for free childcare to support more parents returning to work after parental leave.

Read the full announcement here

Read our evidence submission here

Women’s Health

Our evidence submission to the Women and Equality Government Committee, asking the committee to look into the health challenges women face and the impact of these experiences on their health and lives was published. We also fed into the ongoing health needs assessment for women in Nottingham. We believe this brings us a step closer to ensuring women’s health needs are taken seriously.

Read our evidence submission here

4. Partner Radar

Issues From Some Of Our Partners

A common issue across all partners is the limited funding to deliver services. Nottingham City Council’s issue of a section 114 notice in late November, has resulted in funding cuts and subsequent reductions in service provision. Other emerging issues experienced by our partners are noted below.


Notts LGBT+ Network

Notts LGBT+ is an all-volunteer organisation that provides a comprehensive database of LGBT+ information, 5 nights-a-week helpline, training, volunteering opportunities and an active presence for LGBT+ people in Nottingham.

Emerging Issues

  • People struggling to come to terms with their sexuality and/or gender status
  • People being unaware of local routes to socialising

Base 51

Base 51’s OutBurst provides a safe space for LGBTQIA+ young people (aged 11-14).

Emerging Issues

  • Supporting young people who identify as LGBTQ through their transition from high school to college to ensure they are able to deal with the challenges and emotions involved.

Kairos

A network run by lesbian volunteers for Lesbian and Bisexual Asylum Seekers and Refugees around Nottingham

Emerging Issues

  • Supporting members with mental well-being
  • Cost of living / hardship
  • Housing shortage

Notts Trans Hub (formally Trans Space Notts)

Notts Trans Hub is a trans support charity which runs two in-person support groups a month as well as an in-person social event.

Emerging Issue

  • Challenges about national news stories about trans people and comments made by people affecting mental health.

Nottingham Muslim Women’s Network

Nottingham Muslim Women’s Network continues to provide women and girls (primarily Muslim women and girls) with advocacy and support around issues that affect their daily lives.

Emerging Issues

  • Encouraging new attendees to attend services
  • Limited funding

Vanclaron CHATS

Vanclaron CIC is a community interest company with a mission to shape the design, development and provision of health and wellbeing services to be inclusive.

Emerging Issue

  • Organisational capacity
  • Limited funding

POW

POW Nottingham supports sex workers and empowers vulnerable exploited people so they can be safe, secure and have choice.

Emerging Issue

  • Housing needs
  • Rising Cost of Living

5. Policy Updates


Autumn Statement/King’s Speech

The King’s Speech and the Autumn Statement in November respectively outlined a number of important updates and policy decisions relating to the UK economy. Here are some highlights from the autumn statement:

  • National Insurance contributions will be reduced from 12% to 10% next year for employees paying the standard rate
  • Benefits will increase by 6.7% (in-line with September’s inflation figure)
  • State pension is being increased by 8.5% to £221.20/week
  • As of April 2024, the national living wage will increase to £11.44/hour
  • Class 2 National Insurance will be abolished for the self employed

There is a ‘back to work plan’ by the government to get more people into employment as there are actions around reforms to work capability assessment before people qualify for benefits.

Read more here

Discretionary Friday/pre-Bank Holiday Release Scheme Policy Framework takes effect

The framework/process for bringing forward the release date of a person leaving prison by up to 2 eligible working days, where release date falls on a Friday or the day preceding a bank/public holiday has been published, will take effect from 30th Nov.

Read more here


People will no longer have to disclose sentences for most jobs

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act has brought new changes to spending period for convictions. This means that people will no longer have to disclose sentences for most jobs, although there is a list of excluded offences which will still remain unspent for life. People sentenced to community orders will be free to move on and stop disclosing their conviction as soon as the order ends.

Find more info here


Employers to take steps to prevent sexual harassment from happening in their workplace

The landmark Worker Protection Bill has passed its final stage in the House of Commons which means it will become law before the end of the year. This bill requires employers to take steps to prevent sexual harassment from happening in their workplaces including making clear policies, training and conducting proper and impartial investigations. This also means that the Equalities and Human Rights Commission will be able to take action against organisations that breach this duty, and employers will be liable to individuals at an employment tribunal for sexual harassment claims.

Read more here

6. Upcoming Policy & Campaign Work

Manifesto for Women

Are you a woman or a representative of a woman’s organisation? Come join us at our next Women’s Organisations Network (WON) meeting as we put together a Manifesto for Women that represents specifically women’s needs for the forthcoming general elections.

Get your voice heard! If you would like to attend, RSVP here: samra@nottinghamwomenscentre.com


We hope to disseminate this Manifesto widely and hold our candidates accountable through our Hustings event.

Read more about our campaign work here

National update: Unaffordable childcare costs

The government is expanding its free childcare support from April 2024 and we’re happy to see the hard work of campaigning across the country on unaffordable childcare make an impact!

The new changes are…

From April 2024, working parents of two-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours of free childcare.

From September 2024, 15 hours of free childcare will be extended to all children from the age of nine months.

From September 2025, working parents of children under the age of five will be entitled to 30 hours free childcare per week.

Read about the new changes in more detail here

How it all started in Nottingham

Unaffordable childcare costs and its impact on women’s ability to work was identified as an issue by the policy team of Nottingham Women’s Centre in summer 2021 when almost 75% of Nottingham women surveyed said the cost of childcare affects how much they can work and that unaffordable childcare was driving them out of the workplace.

The average cost of a full-time nursery place is £263 a week, which is over half the average wage. Although childcare affects all parents, the impact of unaffordable childcare is disproportionately felt by women as the primary carers.

What we did in Nottingham

We developed a policy brief advocating for measures to improve the accessibility, affordability and flexibility of childcare. With the support of Cllr Rebecca Langton, this policy brief led to a Full Council motion at Nottingham City Council. You can read that motion in full here.

Working collaboratively with Nottingham City Council, we then:

  • Developed an Inclusive Recruitment guide with information for employers on childcare support available for employees and benefits of recruiting inclusively.  This guide has since been approved by the East Midland Chamber of Commerce.
  • Lobbied for sustained change on the high cost of childcare.
  • Promoted local support available for childcare through Families Information Service (FIS) online and within the city sending flyers and newsletters to job hubs and Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). Visit the FIS website here for more information on childcare support.
  • Reveiwed Nottingham Council’s employment policies to examine its commitment to becoming an exemplar employer of women with childcare responsibilities.
  • Conducted surveys and listening circles with over 90 female participants who have caring responsibilities. The findings from our surveys and listening circles provided a powerful insight into the experiences of women with childcare and employment.
  • Used the findings from our surveys and listening circles, we submitted evidence to the Parliamentary Education Committee. This evidence was accepted by the Committee and published here.

Evidence about unaffordable childcare in Nottingham submitted to the government’s Education Committee 

In the summer of 2021, the policy team at Nottingham Women’s Centre released its quarterly Campaigning Issues Paper which highlighted the impact of unaffordable childcare on women in Nottinghamshire and how unaffordable childcare was driving women out of the workplace.


NWC’s policy team have pursued this campaign by running in-depth focus groups with local mothers and driving forward its policy recommendations in collaboration with Nottingham City Council.

We recently drafted evidence for The Education Committee’s inquiry into support for childcare and the early years, based on a survey, interviews, and two focus groups with women’s organisations within the city: Heya in Nottingham, the only group supporting Arabic women in Nottinghamshire, and Nottingham Women’s Muslim Network.

The Education Committee launched an inquiry into support for childcare and the early years in early 2023. The inquiry will examine how easy to navigate the current childcare system is for parents and carers, and whether current childcare entitlements are providing families with affordable and flexible childcare. The Committee will assess the effectiveness of the different funding entitlements, including those funded by the Department for Education, the Tax-Free Childcare scheme and support for childcare from the benefits and tax credit system.

Summary

Our evidence submission presents information from a survey, one interview and focus groups conducted by Nottingham Women’s Centre in September 2022 for women within the city who have caring responsibility for a child or children. 75 responses were received for this survey and 35 women attended the focus groups (total of 111 women).

Our research findings revealed the following:

  • 61.3% women say the costs of childcare affects the number of hours they work  72% of women say they have either left their job or reduced their hours because of childcare responsibility
  • 34.7% need childcare during non-standard hours
  • 53% of women reported that the pandemic has increased the negative impacts of
  • unaffordable childcare
  • 25% of women said they have been affected by redundancy/furlough because of childcare issues

To tackle the current unaffordability of childcare and support for early years, it is important for the government to consider:

  • Earlier funding for children to ensure motivation back to work after maternity leave
  • Better flexibility and emergency childcare options
  • Explore community-based childcare particularly for women in socio-economically deprived areas who suffer several and multiple disadvantages (SMD)
Click here to read our full evidence submission

Voting Guide for the local elections in Nottingham 2023

The next Local Council Election for Nottingham is on Thursday May 4th 2023

The deadline for submitting an application to…Date
Register to voteMonday 17th April 2023
Vote by post or cancel an existing postal vote5pm on 18th April 2023
Vote by proxy or cancel an existing proxy vote5pm on 25th April 2023
Get a Voter Authority Certificate to use as an ID at the polling station5pm on 25th April 2023

What is new about the upcoming elections?

You will need to take a photo ID with you when you vote at a polling station. If your photo ID is out of date, you can still use it if the photo still looks like you.

Download the full guide to Photo ID (in English) here
Download the guides to Photo ID in other languages (including Bengali, Polish, Urdu & Somali) here

The Electoral Commission has also created guides on the introduction of voter ID for people who might experience additional barriers including trans and non-binary people, people experiencing homelessness and people who are registered anonymously in the UK.

See the links below for the list of available guides:

You will need to show one form of ID from this list:

  • a UK or Northern Ireland photocard driving licence (full or provisional)
  • a driving licence issued by the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, the Isle of Man or any of the Channel Islands
  • a UK passport
  • a passport issued by the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or a Commonwealth country
  • a PASS card (National Proof of Age Standards Scheme)
  • a Blue Badge
  • a biometric residence permit (BRP)
  • a Defence Identity Card (MOD form 90)
  • a national identity card issued by the EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein
  • a Northern Ireland Electoral Identity Card
  • a Voter Authority Certificate
  • an Anonymous Elector’s Document

You can also use one of the following travel passes as photo ID when you vote:

Apply for a Voter Authority Certificate

If you do not have an accepted photo ID, you can apply for Voter Authority Certificate so you can still vote here.

It’s free to apply and you will need:

  • a recent, digital photo of yourself
  • your National Insurance number

If you do not have a National Insurance number, you will need to provide other identity documents such as a birth certificate, bank statement and utility bill.

Before election day

You need to first register to vote. If you have moved to a different address or changed your name since you registered, you need to update your details.

You can register to vote, or update your details on the Government’s website.

You can also contact your local electoral registration office. To find your local electoral registration office, follow this link and type in your post code. Ask them to post a form to you. You’ll then need to return the completed form to your local Electoral Registration Office.

You’ll get a poll card in the post before the election. This will tell you where to vote. If you haven’t got one, contact your local council.

On the election day

You will be given a ballot paper once your ID has been checked. You can take your ballot paper into a polling booth so that no one can see how you vote.

Follow the instructions on the ballot paper. When you have voted, fold your ballot paper in half and put it in the ballot box.

If you are unable to go to the polling station, you can vote by post or proxy.

To apply to vote by post, tick the box ‘vote by post’ or vote by proxy on your registration form.

You can also call the electoral services at your local Council to notify them that you would like to vote by post or proxy. You will be sent a postal or proxy vote application form. Complete the form and return to your local electoral service.

Before elections, you will receive a ballot paper in your post. The ballot paper will state where you should post it after voting.

You can only apply for a proxy vote under certain circumstances, including:

  • you will be away on election day

  • you have a medical issue or disability

  • you are not able to vote in person because of work or military service

 

You do not need a photo ID to vote by post.

 

You’ll need to take your own ID when you go to vote by proxy. You do not need to take the other person’s

For any questions, or to submit paper work you’ll need to speak to the Council

Electoral Services Nottingham City Council
Loxley House
Station Street
Nottingham
NG2 3NG 
United Kingdom

Telephone: 0115 876 4111 (Monday to Friday 9:00 to 17:00)

Email: elections@nottinghamcity.gov.uk

Website: http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/

Endometriosis Awareness – Don’t suffer in silence!

1 in 10 (1.5 million) people suffer from endometriosis in the UK – a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the womb starts to grow in other places, such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes.

Endometriosis is a common condition in the UK but it still currently takes an average of eight years to get a diagnosis here. This is despite:

  • 58% of those diagnosed having visited GP over 10 times
  • 21% visiting doctors in hospital over 10 times
  • 53% visiting A&E with symptoms
  • 27% going to A&E more than three times

All About Endometriosis – awareness event

Come along to a FREE awareness event we’re planning with healthcare professionals on May 17th! It’s a welcoming space to learn about endometriosis as well as to talk about your experience of endometriosis.

When: Wednesday May 17th 6-7:30pm

Where: On Zoom

Register for a free ticket

Topics that will be covered in this session include:

  • What is endometriosis?
  • Getting diagnosed
  • Living with Endometriosis
  • Treatment and Management
  • Accessing services and support for endometriosis in Nottingham

Speakers:

  • Dr Deb Shilpa, Consultant Gynaecologist, Nottingham
  • Sanya Kurmani, NHS Nottingham

We understand that endometriosis is a broad subject especially around cultural considerations and how you experience endometriosis if you’re transitioning/ed. Come along to this session for an overview and there will be time at the end to share what you’d like to hear more specific information on.

There will be a Q&A session to chat about what is important to you, your experience, ideas and challenges. You don’t have to come prepared – just join the conversation!

Symptoms

Endometriosis can affect ALL women of childbearing age and people assigned female at birth including non-binary, gender fluid and transgender people. In addition to all the issues people already experience when suffering from endometriosis, transgender people experience additional barriers to accessing healthcare.

Classic symptoms of endometriosis include: painful/heavy periods; painful sex and infertility, but the full list of symptoms is much longer and may include:

  • Heavy periods with/without clots
  • Pre-menstrual spotting
  • Prolonged bleeding
  • Irregular periods
  • Painful bowel movements
  • Blood in the urine (haematuria)
  • Extreme tiredness
  • Depression
  • Frequent infections such as thrush (candida)
  • Leg and back pains
  • See more on the Endometriosis UK website

Even a small amount of endometriosis deposits can be more painful for the sufferer than some severe diseases.

More information

If you think you might have endometriosis, are coming to terms with a diagnosis, or just want to find out more information, take a look at the following:

“I left with only a nappy and a water bottle for my 13month-old baby” – Campaigning Issues Paper Winter 2022/23

Our quarterly issues papers outline just some of issues impacting our service users at the moment, as highlighted by our caseworkers and management team. We send this anonymised information to a wide range of decision makers, such as Nottingham’s MPs and Council leaders, with the aim of creating change in partnership with other stakeholders.

If you have any questions or feedback, or would like to be added to the Issues Paper distribution list, please email our Policy and Influencing Officer – ezinwanne@nottinghamwomenscentre.com.

You can download the Issues Paper in full here.

1. Storage provision for women fleeing domestic violence in Nottingham

Case studies

  • A 66 year-old woman who suffered arthritis was emotionally abused by her partner. She could not leave the abusive relationship as leaving meant that she would leave her medically recommended armchair behind. She was worried that her partner would burn all her stuff if she fled without keeping the arm chair and other valuables safe. She was forced to stay in the abusive relationship until she got an accommodation where she can go with her arm chair.
  • Another woman said: “I left with only a nappy and a water bottle for my 13months old baby, there was nowhere to save my valuable items.“

Background

Moving can be difficult under any circumstances, but leaving an abusive household is uniquely stressful, costly and potentially dangerous. According to the World Health Organization, 27% of women aged 15-49 who have been in a relationship have been subjected to violence by their intimate partner at least once in their lifetime. Although women are advised to flee abusive homes, often times refuges provided for women fleeing domestic violence has no provision for women to store valuables. 

Evidence shows that women often return multiple times to retrieve their belongings due to financial hardship or else lose valuable items altogether. Women have reported being worried about losing personal possessions, valuable children’s items and even a whole household!

Women with lived experiences say:

  • They suffer from guilt and emotional trauma of children leaving their things
  • They are forced to remain in abusive relationships for fear of losing valuable items.
  • They are exposed to greater financial hardship, as they lose valuables when they flee.
  • Their mental and physical health is impacted from the trauma of leaving behind valuables they worked their lives for.

What NWC is doing about this issue

We are engaging with Nottingham City Homes as well as relevant stakeholders within the city to try and find charity storage slots for women fleeing domestic abuse.  

What change is needed at a policy level

  1. Special storage provision for women fleeing domestic violence within the city to store their valuables to enable women leave abusive relationships as soon as possible.
  2. Further investment in crisis fund and greater awareness on the importance of storage provision for women and how a lack of provision can make women remain in abusive relationships.

2. Lack of specialist endometriosis clinic in Nottingham (an update)

Case study

“I was diagnosed with endometriosis in 2018 after suffering from crippling heavy periods, chronic pelvic pain and fatigue for over 12 years. The gynaecologist who diagnosed me did not have the special interest in endometriosis required by the NICE guidelines and told me that I had mild endometriosis which she had removed during my diagnostic surgery. This turned out to be a misdiagnosis I’ve now been diagnosed me with severe endometriosis, which requires a different level of treatment.

My second round of treatment has been delayed due to Covid. My symptoms are worsening all the time and I am now in constant pain. I have gained 2 stone and I am no longer able to run (due to pain from the endometrioma) which was something which was very beneficial for my mental as well as physical health. Because I rely on strong painkillers to get through the day, I am now opiate dependant and when I do have the surgery I am waiting for (assuming it is successful) I will need to go through an opiate withdrawal programme.”

Because I have severe endometriosis, I have to be treated by a specialist endometriosis centre, however Nottingham does not have such a centre so I need to travel to Leicester for my care. This is also where my surgery will take place meaning it is unlikely that any friends or family will be able to visit me while I’m in hospital.” 

Background

1 in 10 (1.5 million) women suffer from endometriosis in the UK – a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the womb starts to grow in other places, such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes. It currently takes an average of eight years to get a diagnosis with endometriosis despite the fact that:

  • 58% of those diagnosed had visited GP over 10 times,
  • 21% visited doctors in hospital over 10 times,
  • 53% visited A&E with symptoms
  • 27% went to A&E more than three times.

Nottingham

Several our staff and service users are suffering due to the lack of a specialist NHS endometriosis clinic in Nottingham. Women are being forced to travel to Leicester, Peterborough, Birmingham, and other parts of the country for treatment. This is particularly difficult for women with caring responsibility and those who do not have cars. Women who access social security can claim back travel costs, but women on low wages cannot claim financial support for travel.

We ran a poll through our social media platforms and found that 45% of respondents with endometriosis (7 of 15 women) said they had to travel to other parts of the country for treatment. Women unanimously agreed that it was “extremely important” that Nottingham gets a specialist endometriosis treatment centre through NHS.

Lack of appropriate and timely treatment can have a serious impact on women’s mental health and has been linked to painkiller addiction. 90% of the women we polled with endometriosis said they would have liked psychological support, but they have not been offered this as part of their treatment.

What is NWC doing about this?

We are hosting an Endometriosis campaign in March 2023 to raise awareness on the symptoms, prevalence and how to access help within the city if diagnosed with endometriosis.

We are still engaging with the NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) on possibility of a specialist clinic in Nottingham.

What we want changed at a policy level

  1. As outlined in NICE Guidelines, we want anybody who is suspected to be suffering from endometriosis to be seen by a gynaecologist who has a special interest in endometriosis (i.e. specialist training). We have learnt there are currently not many gynaecologists with a special interest in endometriosis in Nottingham. This impedes women’s timely access to medical help and diagnosis.
  2. Better training and more awareness about endometriosis in Nottingham’s GP practises. It currently takes an average of 8years (several GP visits) to identify symptoms of and diagnose endometriosis. This has a debilitating impact on every aspect of the life of women and is expensive for the system. 
  3. Free psychological support for women suffering from endometriosis.
  4. We want to see the funding allocated for a specialist endometriosis clinic in Nottingham. There are an estimated 30,000 women who suffer with endometriosis in the city.  

3. Unaffordable childcare provision forcing women out of the workplace (an update)

“Before I started getting the free hours when my boys turned 3, basically all my wages went on childcare”

Nottingham resident

Background

Unaffordable childcare is a key issue that’s been raised multiple times by our service users and staff. Most UK Government spending is targeted at preschool age (3-4 years) which has been shown to limit women’s ability to return to or stay in work after giving birth. England is also one of the most expensive places in the world for childcare (only Japan is more expensive in terms of percentage of household income) with the average cost of a full-time nursery place at £263 a week, which is over half of average wage.  

What NWC is doing about this issue:

  • In collaboration with Nottingham City Council, we designed an action plan to develop an awareness campaign, promote the benefits to employers of inclusive recruitment and maximise funding opportunities for childcare support and lobby for sustained change on the high cost of childcare.    
  • We designed an inclusive recruitment guide with recommendations for employers and recruitment firms to adopt child care friendly measures to recruit and retain women in the workforce. See the guide here.
  • We submitted evidence to the Education Committee Inquiry into support for childcare and the early years.
  • We conducted survey and interviews with women and listening circles with Nottingham Muslim Women’s Network and Heya Women.

What we want changed at a policy level

  1. Free full-time childcare from 6 months up to 2years to enable women find motivation to get back to work and their career.
  2. Free child care for women who wish to attend medical appointments/ professional trainings.

4. The mental impacts of the use of Alcohol Tags

Background

Since March 2021, courts in England have introduced Alcohol Abstinence and Monitoring Requirements (AAMRs) where drinking was a factor in a crime. An alcohol tag is imposed within an AAMR for adult offenders as a requirement of a community order or suspended sentence order for an alcohol-related offence, or an associated offence that is alcohol-related.

AAMRs bans offenders from drinking alcohol for up to 120 days and offenders must wear an alcohol monitoring tag as part of their community sentence. Compliance is monitored electronically through the alcohol tag which monitors the presence of alcohol in offender’s sweat. A recent report shows high compliance rates, however there is yet no evidence of their impact on offenders.  

Through its case work, Nottingham Women’s Centre has identified the case of the use of alcohol tags and its adverse impact of its use on women.

Case study

Mary, a woman with four children was sentenced to wear an alcohol tag. She was not given any specialist support until several weeks after tag was in place. She also didn’t appear to have been given any information about the health impact of stopping alcohol use so suddenly.  As a result of this, she suffered chronic mental and physical health challenges.

What NWC is doing about this issue:

We are investigating this case, what support is available to women and any possible impact on women and their mental health.  

5. Friday Releases

Background

On 14th June 2022, the Ministry of Justice announced plans to end Friday releases for those with resettlement needs. This is a welcome improvement and we appreciate the efforts of Nacro, and other supporters of the campaign.

However, this is not yet a reality as NWC still continues to see cases of women released on Friday and several difficulties they face in accessing the support they need before the weekend or close of day. We use this opportunity to emphasise the unique vulnerability of women who face several and multiple disadvantages and how a Friday prison release date impacts their mental health and subsequent resettlement into the society.

According to Charlie Taylor, Chief Inspector of Prisons, failing to ensure women have suitable accommodation plays a key role in the cycle of reoffending. He said: “Without stable, safe accommodation many women are liable to have mental health relapses, return to substance misuse and become involved in crime on release, creating more victims and, at great cost to the taxpayer, repeating the cycle and undoing the good work of the prison.”

What NWC is doing about this issue:

Following the announced plan of the government to end Friday release for people that have resettlement needs, we released a statement emphasising the role of gender in assessing the vulnerability and resettlement needs of women leaving prison. Women face frightening levels of sexual harassment; abuse and violence on the streets; severe and multiple disadvantages; intersectional inequality; and a home environment could be a risk to their safety.

What we want changed at policy level

  1. An actual end to Friday releases for women

6. Cost of Living Crisis

Nottingham Women Centre has seen an increasing number of women and service users struggle to meet their basic needs such as heating for the home and appropriate clothing.

What NWC is doing about this issue:

Between July 2022 and Jan 2023, we have given out £1720 in emergency Argos or Tesco vouchers to women in need of extra support and applied for extra funding to do so. The Centre has also spent over £300k on giveaways such as warm clothing for women since October 2022, gain via extra funding we have obtained. Some of our lovely recipients said:

  • “By providing our family with energy saving equipment and items to keep our home cosy is such a blessing.  I’m hoping to put less money in my pre-payment meters and therefore have more money to spend on healthier food for the children.  Thank you so so much“
  • “I feel warmer already”
  • “This funding has given me a lovey warm feeling inside

7. Struggling to pay Council Tax

Several women have come to us recently and reported a struggle to pay for their council tax. Many earn as little as £20 or £50 over the applicable threshold amount for Council Tax Support and they make the point that whilst they do not qualify for council tax support, they cannot afford to pay the full amount either as the amount they earn over the applicable amount does not significantly improve their financial ability to pay the full council tax.

In addition to this, if you default on an instalment of Council Tax, you lose the right to pay by instalments and become liable to pay the full amount immediately. Further failure to pay after a reminder notice means you will be summoned to appear before court. This has caused anxiety and several women are running they run into debt as a result.

Women have pointed out that the threshold to qualify for Council Tax Support is low and they are still not able to pay the full Council Tax amount if they do not qualify. With this in mind it is crucial to examine the suitability of the current system of Council Tax payments and explore the possibility of a levels system of payments where Council Tax is paid according to where the resident falls within a salary range (with three or four different levels of salary ranges available). This would enable local residents to pay according to their earnings and reduces anxiety and mental stress.

What NWC is doing about this issue:

We are engaging with councillors to explore any possible change to the current system of council tax payment.

Inclusive recruitment & childcare toolkit

Childcare in England is in crisis.

As our Summer 2021 Issues Paper noted, unaffordable childcare is driving women out of the workplace here in Nottingham. In fact, almost 75% of women we surveyed said the cost of childcare affects the amount they can work.

Off the back of our research, Nottingham City Councillor, Rebecca Langton endeavoured to support our call for policy change striving to make the situation better for parents at a local level. In late 2021, a full council motion was submitted under her name and the Council committed to work in partnership with us to provide employers with a toolkit for best practice on issues relating to inclusive recruitment and childcare as a barrier to accessing work. Here, you’ll find the final version of that very toolkit!

Recruiting inclusively

Inclusive recruitment gives employers the widest reach to a pool of talented candidates.    

An employer’s ability to be flexible and inclusive of their employees’ life situations helps retain their best talent and saves on training costs for new starters. Childcare-friendly recruitment and employment practice is an excellent way to attract and retain the best talent.

Recruitment platforms should be designed to promote a culture of diversity and inclusion. This should be demonstrated in the use of words and questions asked.  Recruitment processes that ask applicants of their child care responsibility without giving further reasons or explanations create uncertainty and could lead to hesitation or withdrawal of applicants who have childcare responsibilities. 

Download a pdf version of this guide

Benefits of employing inclusively

Improves Productivity

Studies show that diverse workplaces are creative and productive.

Fosters Loyalty

Paid maternity or paternity leave signals a flexible attitude to the challenges of life, fosters loyalty, and aids staff retention.

Boosts Staff Retention

Paid maternity and paternity leave also makes organisations more appealing to an increasingly diverse workforce, making it easier to retain good, loyal staff.

Talent Attraction

By offering enhanced parental leave, companies are able to attract prospective employees who want to build a career with a company that will support them.

Boosts Staff Morale

Studies have shown that family-friendly policies and practices have a positive impact on morale.  Positive and engaged staff are important indicators in overall organisational performance.

What companies need to offer

Flexible working

Flexible working enables employees to have good work life balance, whilst working efficiently.  Employers are encouraged to adopt flexible working options e.g. term-time working; compressed hours, job share split shifts, annualised hours, breaks for school run, TOIL, remote or hybrid working options.  

Holidays

Employers are encouraged to offer flexible holiday arrangements. Holidays claimable in hours (not days) across the year work best.  Flexible holiday arrangements enable parents/carers to cater for and plan towards any childcare need, particularly because childcare services are often charged in hours.

Emergency holiday

This should be made available where possible. Employers are encouraged to adopt a carry over, buy or sell annual leave policy scheme. This increases flexibility and enables parents/carers to respond to medical emergencies.

Paternity Leave

Paternity leave helps share childcare responsibility between parents/carers enabling better engagement with work.

Policies and resources

Employers are advised to provide and implement childcare policies within the workplace. Childcare policies should contain information and guidance on childcare support available. Human Resources (HR) staff should be regularly trained in dealing with requests by employees relating to childcare. They should be equipped to signpost employees to the Families Information Services (FIS) for advice on a variety of services available to parents, family life and childcare. Recruitment processes for new employees should include details of childcare funding support and services available. Large employers are encouraged to provide onsite nurseries and childcare vouchers for employees.  

If steps have been made to make the workplace more inclusive of those with childcare responsibilities, this should be included in the job posting. The use of phrases such as “family friendly”, “employee nursery provided”, and “childcare concessions can be arranged” will attract a wider demographic to your vacancy.

Resources & Links

• Nottingham City Council: Funding and support for families
• Nottinghamshire County Council:  Funding and support for families
• Building Better Opportunities:  Guides to Inclusive Recruitment
• Working Families UK

This guide was created by Nottingham Women’s Centre and Nottingham City Council. Download a pdf version here.

Our statement on the MoJ’s announcement to end Friday prison releases

On 14th June 2022, the Ministry of Justice announced plans to end Friday prison releases for those with resettlement needs. This move to end Friday releases is part of ongoing reforms to reduce reoffending and protect the public, including a new £25m prison security boost.

Nottingham Women’s Centre would like to emphasise the role of gender in assessing the vulnerability and needs of women leaving prison. Women face frightening levels of sexual harassment; abuse and violence on the streets; severe and multiple disadvantages; intersectional inequality; and a home environment could be a risk to their safety.

Under this new plan, announced by Prisons Minister, Victoria Atkins, offenders with:

  • Mobility problems
  • Increased vulnerability
  • A higher likelihood of ending up homeless
  • Long distances to travel home
  • Severe mental health needs or addiction issues

will be released on the Wednesday or Thursday before their Friday release date, with strict security screenings in place. 

We’re grateful to Nacro, partner organisations, those in Parliament and supporters of the campaign who made this change happen.

To work with the government and support the smooth implementation of this legislation though, Nottingham Women’s Centre would like to emphasise the role of gender in assessing the vulnerability and needs of women leaving prison.[i]

In a seminal report by Baroness Corston, A review of women with particular vulnerabilities in the Criminal Justice System, it was highlighted that the risk factors that lead to vulnerability, the commission of crime and reoffending vary for men and women. Women are at a greater risk of mental health concerns than men and their experiences of homelessness vary from men’s.

In assessing the circumstances and vulnerability of individual women for eligibility to be released before their Friday release date, we therefore recommend the adoption of a gender specific, inclusive, trauma-informed and rights-based approach.

To ensure women’s safety and that their needs are visible in service delivery and provision, it is important to note the following evidence:

  • Women face frightening levels of sexual harassment, abuse and violence on the streets.
  • Women face severe and multiple disadvantages – it is vital to recognise that disadvantage is inherent in social relations and therefore demands social and political solutions.[ii]
  • Intersectionality – Gender is only one dimension to examine inequality.  An increasing number of women suffer disadvantage from an intersection of two or more categories under the legally protected characteristics. [iii]
  • The home environment could be a risk to women’s safety. Being homeless also means being vulnerably housed, especially where a person will face a risk of harm or injury in their home environment.[iv]

According to Charlie Taylor, Chief Inspector of Prisons, failing to ensure women have suitable accommodation plays a key role in the cycle of reoffending. He said:

“Without stable, safe accommodation many women are liable to have mental health relapses, return to substance misuse and become involved in crime on release, creating more victims and, at great cost to the taxpayer, repeating the cycle and undoing the good work of the prison.”

[i] According to Ministry of Justice statistics, 12.8 per cent of women who were released from prison ended up either homeless or rough sleeping in the year 2020/21, compared with just 11.8 per cent of men. See report by The LankellyChase Foundation Women and girls facing severe and multiple disadvantage (2016) .

[ii] (Duncan and Corner, 2012) pg 3

[iii] Rebecca Sycamore, St Mungo’s Executive Director of Development)

[iv] https://www.preventingexploitationtoolkit.org.uk/home/what-is-exploitation/what-is-vulnerability/homelessness/

Links to further reading

 

 

Image credit: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/end-to-friday-releases-to-cut-crime-and-make-streets-safer

Statement on the Law Commission’s Hate Crime review

To fight something, raise awareness, and tell the public to take it seriously you first have to name it. Recording misogyny as a hate crime in Nottinghamshire gave various different unwanted actions a single unified name which made a real difference to the confidence women felt in the county.

Women described “walking taller” knowing police would take them seriously when they reported incidents and in some cases were able to challenge the misogyny directly knowing the police would have their backs. The Law Commission states that it recognises “the very real problem of violence, abuse and harassment of women and girls in England and Wales” – but what is being done to tackle it?

Nottingham Women’s Centre believes that recording misogyny as hate crime helps to record and bear witness to the whole intersectional experience of what male harassment feels like to a woman. If this was linked to increased sentencing then it could act as a deterrent.

We welcome the suggestion that a new offence of Public Sexual Harassment be introduced, as well as another one about stirring up hatred on the grounds of sex or gender, but any legislation needs to be part of a much wider effort to address the fact that violence against women and girls that is rooted in educating boys and men and changing societal norms around this issue.

In Nottinghamshire, we’ll continue to work with Equation and other partners through the Office of the Police Crime Commissioner to tackle misogyny at strategy level as well as on the ground.

Read also!

Together with The Fawcett Society and nearly twenty leading women’s rights and hate crime organisations, we have released a joint public response to the Law Commission review of Hate Crime which you can find on The Fawcett Society’s website.

Key takeaway:

“Women and girls have waited too long to be equally protected and will continue to fight for this.”

Working with Nottingham City Council to tackle unaffordable childcare costs in Nottingham

Author: Erika Yap

In the summer of 2021, the policy team at Nottingham Women’s Centre released its quarterly Campaigning Issues Paper which highlighted the impact of unaffordable childcare on women not just in Nottingham, but also across the whole of the UK. 

The Paper, and the social media polling the Centre did to inform it, showed how unaffordable childcare was driving women out of the workplace. In fact, almost 75% of women surveyed said the cost of childcare affects the amount they can work.

England is one of the most expensive places in the world for childcare; the average cost of a full-time nursery place is £263 a week, which is over half the average wage. 

Since the Paper’s publication, NWC’s policy team have pursued this campaign by running in-depth focus groups with local mothers and driving forward its policy recommendations in collaboration with Nottingham City Council Councillor, Rebecca Langton. In the long term, the team is also researching alternatives to the childcare system.

Policy change with Nottingham City Council

When Nottingham City Councillor, Rebecca Langton, heard and read about the findings of our research she endeavoured to support our call for policy change striving to make the situation better for parents at a local level. Using information from our research and focus groups, as well as data collected from social media polls, we developed a policy brief advocating for measures to improve the accessibility, affordability and flexibility of childcare. 

On Monday 8th November, the following motion went to full council in Nottingham as a result of this policy brief. The motion went as follows:

Motion in the name of Councillor Rebecca Langton

Nottingham City Council recognises:

  • Childcare is a critical social infrastructure that can both tackle childhood inequality and enable mothers to work but childcare in England is in crisis and this has been compounded by Covid-19.
  • England is one of the most expensive places in the world for childcare; the average cost of a full-time nursery place is £263 a week, which is over half the average wage.
  • Childcare costs increased 7 times faster than wages in the East Midlands, the highest level of inflation outside of London
  • 75% of families use private nurseries and 56% of parents rely on grandparents for help.
  • Although childcare affects all parents, this Council recognises that the impact of unaffordable childcare is disproportionately felt by women.

This Council notes a recent survey conducted by Nottingham Women’s Centre, which found that:

  • 75% of Nottingham women surveyed said the cost of childcare affects the amount they can work
  • 53% of women reported that the pandemic has increased the negative impacts of unaffordable childcare
  • 25% of women said they have been affected by redundancy/furlough because of childcare issues

This Council resolves to:

  • Deliver an awareness raising campaign to increase access to support amongst job seekers and practitioners
  • Ensure easy access to information relating to childcare and support available to parents, addressing the specific needs of the family
  • Work in partnership with the Nottingham Women’s Centre to run a joint campaign on child care and work, providing employers with a toolkit for best practice on issues relating to inclusive recruitment and childcare as a barrier to accessing work
  • Review its own policies to ensure it is doing all it reasonably can to set a good example on supporting working parents
  • Seek funding to develop and deliver a Women into Work initiative
  • Reaffirm its commitment to Child Friendly status for Nottingham.

This Council calls on the Government to:

  • Provide subsidised childcare from 6 months Introduce a cap on extra hours of childcare of £1/hour
  • Introduce flexible furlough for all parents
  • Increase child benefit and remove the two-child cap for Child Tax credits and Universal Credit
  • Improve the Self Employment Income Support Scheme so that parents are supported when they are unable to work due to school and early years closures
  • Encourage private companies to assess employee childcare needs and invest in solutions to meet those needs and those of the surrounding community

The motion in full along with the full agenda for Full Council can be found here.

What else can be done?

Alternative solutions: Co-produced childcare with Lucie Stephens

Beyond our work with Nottingham City Council, NWC has also been looking into alternative ways of organising and structuring childcare provision. This led us to getting in contact with Lucie Stephens – Founder of Friendly Families Nursery and former Head of Co-production & Core Economy at the New Economics Foundation – to discuss the alternative of parent-led childcare.


Co-produced (also known as ‘Parent-led’) childcare involves the collective ownership of childcare provision services by the childcare staff and/or parents. These organisations rely on parents’ contributions of time and skills to the nursery, reducing labour-costs and therefore childcare fees for parents. 

We discussed this system with Lucie Stephens who shared expertise of the economics of co-production as well as her personal experiences as both a parent using co-produced childcare and a founder of a parent-led nursery in London. 

Evidence about menopause in the workplace for Women & Equalities Committee

We recently submitted evidence to the Women and Equalities Committee inquiry into menopause and the workplace. We’re pleased to share it’s been accepted and published for all to read!

We had a wealth of information to offer up to the inquiry thanks to our Menopause in the Workplace report and campaign which we worked on throughout 2020.

We started by outlining the nature and extent of discrimination we had heard about from our work with women – along with the economic impact of that discrimination. We then built this out into a second section of the submission which detailed how businesses can factor in the needs of employees going through the menopause.

Read our full evidence submission here

Check out our Menopause in the Workplace report and resources for employees and employers…

From our research and Menopause in the Workplace survey, we found that:

● Only 9.3% of women who completed our survey felt supported in the workplace while going through the menopause.

● 57% of women reported that hostile workplace environments impacted their wellbeing and ability to work.

● This led to 55.1% of the women surveyed considering reducing their hours or leaving their jobs.